Star Bamboo Singapore

Last October, I adopted 8 sqm of forest land in Indonesia at the Qi Global Conference in Singapore.

A few days ago, the certificate finally arrived:

(click above for full size image)

The coolest thing is that I know the exact geo co-ordinates of the piece of land I adopted. I could even view it in Google Earth and monitor its progress over time.

Adopting a piece of land is kind of like adopting a child for schools in remote villages. The financial contribution is one thing, I also feel a stronger sense of ownership.

This piece of forest land is under my care, and at the same time, belongs to us all.

Reforestation is a painstakingly long-term effort. Primary rainforests, once lost, could never be reclaimed fully. We can only hope for a rough approximation of the beauty that used to exist.

Prevention is better than cure. Instead of using wooden products, why not consider other eco-friendly alternatives such as bamboo?

This is the only truly sustainable way for our future.

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Apple’s latest creation is the iPad. Jokes about female hygiene products aside, I’m really pleased to note that they have put in effort to make a eco-friendly product.

(Source: CNET News)

Looks like it’s a matter of time before they change the colour of their logo to green.

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We seem to be having technical difficulties with the web site.

Visitors in the past few hours would not have been able to connect, instead seeing a blank page.

Thankfully, it has been sorted out. The cause was a fault in the Wordpress database, which causes excessive connections. Or that’s what my tech guy told me.

What’s still not working is the contact form. Queries sent with it disappear into a mysterious black-hole. So I’ve taken it offline for now, but you can still get in touch with us via the contact page.

Sorry about all this.

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Hi everyone, hope you had a great Christmas and New Year. I’ve gone quiet on the postings thanks to the busy holiday period, but we start 2010 with a nice little feature in Straits Times, in the Life section on 16 Jan 2010.

Got a healthy spike in web site traffic after the article appeared on Saturday.

Here’s a screenshot of the article - “Bamboo the green pick for flooring”:

(Source: Meltwater.com)

Just to share more insights into the article with you.

Star Bamboo was the first bamboo flooring specialist company in Singapore when we started operations in 2005. About a year after us, the first competitor appeared and the market has since expanded to about 4 players now.

It’s a relatively small market in Singapore, which is why our focus is still on the European markets. But it’s growing rapidly by the day.

The photo is of a residential project we completed in 2009, a bungalow in the East area of Singapore. Using our Carbonised Vertical bamboo flooring, we constructed a platform in the living room. It’s right next to the entrance, greeting the guests as they step into the house.

After all, first impressions do count.

So if you’d like to find out more about our award-winning, eco-friendly bamboo flooring, and what we can do for your home or office, just give us a buzz at 6565 9217!

(You’ll need a subscription for the article at Straits Times.)

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I met the young team behind CHOOSE. at a recent environmental forum.

James, and his partner Stuart, opened Singapore’s first dedicated eco-store just in September, and already I have seen a healthy flow of traffic to their shop in Chinatown.

It aims to be a one-stop location for all your green needs. There are environmentally friendly alternatives for everything from household cleaners and organic clothes to energy efficiency monitors and office supplies.

All the products are reusable, biodegradable, made from recycled or recyclable materials, or made up of chemical-free and non-toxic compounds.

James and Stuart are also going beyond retail, and reaching out to the community. They’ve got a whole host of eco-initiatives, such as collection of recyclables, printer cartridges and toners, and compost, and even electronic waste like batteries (got discounts on rechargeable batteries!). You can also donate your used items ala Free Cycling.

Other initiatives include promoting cycling to work by offering secure bicycle parking, shower, and locker facilities. The 2 guys are leading by example and cycling to work.

And of course, now you can pick up Star Bamboo’s eco-friendly bamboo chopping boards there too!

So head over to CHOOSE. today and check it out for yourself!
CHOOSE. by Olive Ventures.
26A Sago Street
Tel: 63230651
Open daily, 10am – 8pm

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Sorry for the long silence, we have been very busy for the past 2 months!

Just saw this article on AsiaOne web site:

THOSE seeking to buy energy- and cost-saving home appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, will be able to check if the products are on a “green” list that will be posted online.

Special materials, such as different types of glass and walls that are green, will also be included in the list, making it easier for construction-industry players to develop environmentally-friendly buildings.

The list, which is expected to be ready in a year, is the first project of the Singapore Green Building Council.

Wait a minute, don’t we already have such a list?

In fact, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) already has a list of eco-products for many years. On their list of Green Label-approved products, Star Bamboo has been listed since 2006.

So if you are into eco-purchasing, go check out the SEC web site now.

p.s. our next post will be about the latest exciting avenue for eco-purchases, look out for it!

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Yes you read that right.

This article came out way back in April but it just slipped my mind to post it after scanning the pages. This means you probably can’t grab a copy now, but better late than never, so here it is.

I liked the thoughtful manner in which the accompanying essay was written.

“It is an example of eco-friendliness,  sustainable living, and space management that helps to save costs and reduce wastage, which resonates particularly in such challenging times.”

The photos were some of the classiest shots in interior design. There is great depth, and I especially love how Linda and her cat were cleverly placed.

Enjoy the pictures below.

Nice wide shot of the living room and kitchen. The living room, corridors, and bedrooms were all laid with our Carbonised Vertical bamboo flooring.

Dom’s a musician, here’re some of the tools of his trade. I almost mistook their cat for a plush cushion.

Very open concept, you can cut across the toilet from the bedroom to the kitchen.

The real star of the place is lazing comfortably on the bamboo flooring, next to the kitchen counter top made from reclaimed wood.

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Would like to say thanks again to the friendly folks at Square Rooms for featuring us in their Jul-Aug 2009 issue.

Nice title, wish I’d thought of it!

You can read the tips below. They are pretty straight-forward, but well worth repeating.

For the full article on kitchen flooring tips, go pick up a copy at the book stores today.

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Our eco-friendly bamboo flooring have appeared in so many magazines recently, we’re having some difficulty keeping track. Thankfully, they are all collated in our handy media section.

The latest is in a special feature by Square Rooms called “Key to Your Home”. It’s not the standard issue Square Rooms magazine, so it took me a while to find it. It wasn’t available at Popular or Times book stores, nor at my usual news stand.

Finally found the feature at Borders, and it looks like this:

It’s a complete renovation guide, with different sections such as Bedrooms, Kitchens, and of course, Floorings.

Nowadays, no self-respecting interior design magazine can afford to ignore the eco-friendly trend. Here’s the article that uses one of our project photos:

This is an example of our Carbonised Vertical bamboo flooring.

Of all the eco-friendly flooring options mentioned in the article above, bamboo flooring is the most durable material. It also looks similar to hard wood flooring, and can be installed and used in the same way.

So go green with bamboo flooring today, just give us a call at 65659217 to find out more.

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Got a sms from Olivia of Green Drinks that we’re in this month’s Tatler. The interview was done in April, so it had totally slipped my mind.

Singapore Tatler is a high society magazine, which I only read while in my dentist’s waiting room.

So when I had to actually buy it, I searched high and low for it. It’s not available in the magazine racks at the petrol stations, nor could I find it in Popular and Times Bookstores.

Finally I managed to buy a copy of the June 2009 issue from a magazine kiosk in IMM.

Tatler comes in many editions. Make sure you get the right issue, it’s the one with Nadya on the front page. This issue’s focus is on the environment, and here’s our article:

[Update on 26 Jun: Click here for full-sized image]

We’ve got a full-page photo of one of our bamboo flooring projects. This is our Carbonised Horizontal bamboo flooring.

Just a short quote from my interview: ” We get feedback from customers all the time that they would have chosen bamboo flooring if they had known of such an eco-friendly product.”

All too true.

The main feature is “Earth Angels”, highlighting four celebrities who are doing their part to save the earth.

There’s our perennial favourite eco-celeb, Nadya. Check out her new web site - Green Kampung. It’s shaping up nicely with lots of good content. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’s kicking off a series of media initiatives to drum up publicity for her web site.

There’s Howard Shaw too, who’s the executive director of Singapore Environment Council (SEC). SEC is the body that gives us our Green Label certification. SEC’s recent charity screening of “Home” was held at Shaw Lido, so I’m guessing that he’s related to Shaw Cinemas.

Claire Chiang is up next. Together with Ho Kwon Ping, she’s one half of the husband-and-wife team behind the Banyan Tree Resorts. Running a successful chain of resorts means she has the chance to actively practise what she preaches for the environment, and the Banyan Tree group is well-known for their environmental efforts.

The last Angel is Audrey Tay of the Hour Glass family. I’m actually not too familiar with her eco-efforts, but apparently she’s a regular in fund-raisers for groups such as SEC and the Save Our Planet Foundation.

The articles are well worth a read. As a bonus, there are lots of photos of beautiful people too.

So pick up your copy today!

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